Page - 19 - in Media – Migration – Integration - European and North American Perspectives

Horst Pöttker | Successful Integration? 19 109 illustrations could be found, an average of 4.5 visual elements per issue. None of these illustrations dealt with issues concerning the Polish segment of the population or with Polish migration as such. Hence, the refusal to mention the group also extends to the visual elements of the newspaper. The only exceptions were advertisements, in which Slavic names occasionally appeared. Thus, journalists themselves did not violate the taboo, although perhaps they should have – to facilitate transparency and promote societal communication, which could have furthered the integration process. Instead, if the taboo was ignored, this was done by the administration, by political institutions, and by some of the migrants themselves, who were interested in buying publicity to further their economic interests. In light of such meagre findings, it seems necessary to look for reports of events in which some mention of the Polish minority was practically inevitable. Among these events were the “Riots of Herne”, during which in June 1899 Polish miners were among the protesters against an increase in miners’ insurance premiums which would particularly affect young, unskilled workers. Other such events include the large-scale miner strikes in 1889, 1905 and 1912. In 1889, still at an early phase of migration in which Polish nationalism had not yet developed among the migrants from the Eastern provinces, the Wochenblatt für den Kreis Recklinghausen (the weekly predecessor of the Recklinghäuser Zeitung) published reports in language that tended to malign the Polish minority and to provoke feelings against them. This might have been related to the subject matter, as the newspaper reported on conflicts between Polish workers who were on strike and German strike breakers: Bottrop, May 8th. Close to the new pit of the coal mine “Prosper”, there has been a row between miners. While returning from their shift, twenty of the local miners were assaulted by about 80 Polish workers who were loitering. (Wochenblatt für den Kreis Recklinghausen, vol. 55, 11th May 1889, p. 3) Four days later, a similar report appeared: Bottrop, May 12th. A number of German miners was attacked by a large group of their Polish colleagues on a countryside road. The Poles were outraged because their German colleagues had not immediately joined them in their strike. An attacker identified by the name of Bernatzi was shot in the back, but was not critically injured. A landowner who lived nearby had fired off his shotgun to alarm the military. (Wochenblatt für den Kreis Recklinghausen, vol. 57, 13th May 1889, p. 2)